


A Christmas to Remember

by Akiko_Natsuko



Series: Reaper76 [11]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Acceptance, Christmas, Christmas Decorations, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Family Drama, Love, M/M, Memories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-10
Updated: 2018-11-10
Packaged: 2019-08-23 06:08:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16613384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: Jack's upbringing had left him less than excited about the upcoming holiday, and Gabriel is determined to change that. To give him a Christmas to remember.





	A Christmas to Remember

     Jack had never been a fan of Christmas, or rather he had never been given a chance to be. His family had always been more practical than sentimental, even when he and his siblings had been young and while they hadn’t ignored the festivities, they hadn’t really indulged in it either. The Christmas tree had always been brought last minute, usually the sorriest, most bedraggled looking tree left in the lot, and the decorations were simple and ancient, the only news that ever appeared on it were the ones they made at school, so once they hit high school it was just the same decorations over and over. His parents had argued that there was no point spending lots of money on something that would just be tossed on a bonfire in the New Year.

    That same practicality had applied to presents too. There had been no piles of gifts for the Morrison children, none of the latest toys and fashions. Instead, their gifts had been sensible items, new school clothes, a pair of thick boots for when Jack was helping on the farm. Useful, not sentimental, and the kids had been expected to take the same approach. Jack could still remember with painful clarity, how the picture that he had spent hours on at school and been praised by his teacher had barely earned a glance from his parents, and he had found it a day later buried in a pile of paperwork waiting to be burnt in the grate.

That had been the year he had lost hope in Christmas.

 *

    That was why when he walked into his and Gabe’s quarters on the evening of November the first and found that the coffee table had been shoved aside to make room for a Christmas tree he came to an abrupt halt, eyes narrowed as he stared at it. It was still undecorated, although from the boxes sat on the sofa it was going to stay that way, but he could already tell that this was nothing like the trees from his childhood. It barely fit in the room, which was impressive considering how high the ceiling was and it stood tall and straight, a vibrant green against the clinical colours of the wall. It was the Christmas tree he had always dreamed about when he was a child, one that would have him jumping up and down with excitement if he had come home from school to find it sat in their living room.

    Today he felt numb as he stared out, trying to work out why it was there, and he started slightly when the door opened behind him, and Gabriel came in with another box, this one with tinsel dangling down the side. Gabriel came to a halt, no doubt noticing the jolt before a slow grin spread across his face as he tilted his head towards the tree. “She’s a beauty isn’t she.” Well, that answered the question of who had put the tree up in their rooms, not that Jack had honestly thought that someone else would break in just to put a Christmas tree there, but it didn’t explain why it was there.

“Gabe…” He began slowly, and something must have been off about his voice because Gabriel’s grin dimmed as he tilted his head in question. “It’s November.” He wasn’t quite sure what he was going to do about Christmas yet, especially as it was their first Christmas together, but he certainly wasn’t ready to deal with it an entire month early.

“So?” Gabriel asked.

“So?” Jack echoed, confused that Gabriel didn’t seem to be seeing the problem here. “Christmas is over a month away, so why are you putting the tree up now?” He hadn’t meant to, but he had practically spat the word ‘Christmas’ and Gabriel’s eyebrows climbed higher, and he was quiet as he set the box he had been carrying down with the other one, before crossing the short distance between them and reaching for Jack’s hands.

    Jack had a feeling that he wasn’t going to like this conversation, but he didn’t pull back, he never could when Gabe was involved, longing for his touch even when it was something simple like holding hands. Gun calloused fingers ran over his. Gabriel’s way of soothing him before broaching a subject that he knew that Jack wouldn’t like. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Gabriel asked quietly, and Jack tensed and immediately looked away. “Jack.” This time his voice was less gentle, it was the same tone that he had used when they were in the field, and Jack was about to do something reckless, it was the tone that Jack would always listen to, even when he would listen to no one else and to his frustration he found himself looking up at Gabriel.

“I…”

“You’ve been acting like a bear with a sore head whenever anyone has so much as mentioned Christmas in the last week or so,” Gabriel pointed out softly, and Jack winced. He’d thought that he’d been hiding it pretty well apart from today, but seeing the requests for Christmas leave pouring in and details for the Overwatch Christmas Banquet had been setting his teeth on edge for the past week. Reminding him that the year was passing quickly and soon he would have to confront his least favourite holiday. “I didn’t really pay attention at the time, but you don’t like Christmas, do you?” Gabriel sounded like he was torn between apologising for not noticing, and dismay and Jack shifted uneasily.

“It’s not that…well not really.” 

“That doesn’t tell me anything,” Gabriel chided, and Jack coloured, frustrated. It had been a long time since anyone had called him out on his lack of Christmas spirit, and he had always been able to make up some excuse that satisfied whoever was asking. He knew that wouldn’t work here, Gabriel knew him too well, easily able to see through the slightest hint of a lie. However, maybe that wasn’t a bad thing, because he had a feeling that if anyone were going to understand the reasons for his ambivalence towards Christmas, then it would be Gabriel, especially as he’d had the delight of meeting his parents a couple of months before when they’d last had leave.

“I don’t hate Christmas,” he started. “Not really.” That much was true. He didn’t like it, but he didn’t hate it. There were still moments, even now when he would stare at the Christmas lights and listening to people talk about their plans and want. “It’s just, it wasn’t something we celebrated at home…” He had meant to leave it at that, feeling that any more would be moaning, but Gabriel was watching him with soft, understanding eyes, and he found himself continuing. The words tumbling over one another as he told Gabriel about the disappointing Christmases, the picture that he was sure had found its way into the grate, the empty gift giving.

     Gabriel let himself talk himself out, although in the middle of it he had guided Jack across to the sofa, nudging the boxes aside so that the could sit, encouraging Jack to lean against him. Eventually, Jack had run out of words, letting his head fall against Gabriel’s shoulder with a sigh, feeling tired and drained, and he hummed in appreciation as Gabriel wrapped an arm around his shoulders, beginning to massage him gently. “Have I ever mentioned before that I don’t like your family?” Gabriel muttered finally, and Jack couldn’t stop himself from snorting at the words.

“Once or twice.” It had been the first thing that Gabriel had said in the car when they had finally left the Morrison farm, and Jack hadn’t been able to find it in himself to defend them back then. He couldn’t do it this time either he realised.

“Then let me say it again,” Gabriel grumbled, continuing to massage Jack, chasing the stress and tension in his shoulders. “Idiots…”

“What were your Christmases like?” Jack asked after a few minutes of companionable silence, feeling Gabriel still at the question and glancing at him, seeing the hesitation in the dark eyes that met his gaze and guessing the reason behind it. “You clearly like Christmas, and I want to know why…”

“Christmas has always been my favourite holiday,” Gabriel confessed after a moment, seeing that Jack really did want an answer. “It was the one time of the year we were guaranteed to see all of my family, and it was always a lot of fun. We didn’t necessarily have a lot, in fact, some years we were lucky to get anything especially after Dad passed away, but it was fun. We would cover the house in lights and tinsel, and mum would always make us compete to see who got to choose the tree that year.” Jack had met Gabriel’s siblings, and he could easily imagine how chaotic those competitions had got. The Reyes’ were nothing if not stubborn. “And the food…Grandma Rosa was in charge of the cooking until her health got too bad, and you’ve never tasted such food…”

“It sounds nice,” Jack whispered. It sounded wonderful, but he couldn’t get those words out, his throat suddenly feeling tight as he looked down. That was the kind of Christmas he wished he’d had, and he hadn’t even realised that his hands had balled into fists in his lap until Gabriel’s free hand came to rest on top of them. Jack reluctantly looked up at him, taken aback by the fierce light in Gabriel’s eyes.

“I’m going to make sure you have a Christmas like that Jack,” Gabriel promised, with the same sincerity and fierceness that he’d once promised Jack that they were going to get through the Omnic Crisis together and Jack didn’t know how to respond. Gabriel seemed to understand though, squeezing Jack’s hand. “I promise that you’re going to have the best Christmas ever.” Jack nearly pointed out that he didn’t have much to compete against, but he bit back the words just in time because Gabriel’s words carried a weight that told him that he meant every word and that he wasn’t going to rest until he kept the promise. Jack wasn’t sure whether to be excited or worried, but there was a trace of a smile playing on his lips as he murmured.

“I look forward to it.”

****

    Gabriel hadn’t been joking, his love for the season reaching new heights as he tried to do everything in his power to make the season special for Jack. First had been the tree, which they had worked on that evening because ‘no, it doesn’t matter that it’s November’. That had ended up taking hours, mainly because Gabriel it transpired was a perfectionist when it came to decorating, whereas Jack with only his parents’ habits to go kept sticking things on anywhere, only to be scolded and shown how to do it just ‘right.’ Then they had bickered about the lights, which had degraded into tossing baubles at one another, the poor tree nearly becoming a casualty when they started tussling. Then hidden in the depths of the box they had found a sprig of Mistletoe, and Jack had found himself being chased across the room as Gabriel tried to steal as many kisses as possible, not that he really minded, and by the time they had finally collapsed in front of the finished tree, Jack’s mood had been soaring.

   It was beautiful he had to admit, the lights casting a soft glow across the room and he had found himself spending many evenings just sat there staring at it. It looked loved, and secretly Jack was starting to wonder if they could leave it up all the time, although there was no way he was mentioning it to Gabe while he was on his Christmas mission.

   The decorating hadn’t ended with their quarters. A few days after their talk Jack had walked into his office, to find another, smaller tree waiting for him along with a box of decorations along with a note telling him to ‘go wild, but remember to spread the baubles out.’ He had snorted at the list of instructions, but with an almost furtive look around, as though he had expected someone to tell him not to waste his time on something so foolish he had set to work on the tree. Feeling an almost childish glee when he stepped back once it was complete, trying not to admit just how happy it made him to see that little touch of festive cheer in his otherwise plain office.

   If Gabriel winced a little when he saw the lopsided decorations and messy tinsel, he didn’t say anything, just smiled smugly to see that Jack had obeyed.

    Then there was the mistletoe. Jack had looked for it the day after they had decorated their tree, hoping to hide it before Gabriel could chase him again but it had disappeared. It soon reappeared, and Jack was convinced that Ana and possibly McCree had to be helping Gabriel because there was no way it could appear in some of those places otherwise, although Gabriel was clearly in on it at all times, because he always turned up whenever Jack was under it. Kissing him softly, uncaring of who was around, and always whispering ‘Merry Christmas’ against his lips before disappearing again, and as much as it flustered Jack, and frustrated him because he could never catch them hanging it, he found himself enjoying the attention. And slowly, he began to associate those two words which had once made him frown with warm, tender kisses.

    Next came the food. Jack had always had a sweet tooth, which had been mainly curtailed by his parents and he had never been able to resist Gabriel’s cooking, his partner having picked up more than a few hints from his Grandma. In the weeks leading up to Christmas though he surpassed him, and Jack would find covered plates waiting in his office after a meeting, or greeting him when he arrived home, and finally he had the chance to indulge in all the Christmas treats that had been deemed unnecessary when he was younger. He wasn’t sure what he made of mince pies, quite happy to let little Fareeha steal them when she visited. However, he could happily have eaten his own body weight in stollen, Gabriel having got the recipe from Reinhardt and constantly experimenting on it once he realised how much Jack liked it.

**

   By the time Christmas came, Jack was already ready to admit defeat. He had never experienced a Christmas like this, and there was nearly always a smile on his face those days, apart from when he had started the hunt for a present to give to Gabriel. Somehow, he knew that a practical gift wasn’t what was needed here, but that left him adrift in a sea of uncertainty, and he was sure that he must’ve asked every one of their friends for advice in the days running up to Christmas day, panic settling in. He had managed to pick up a few bits and pieces, a bottle of Gabe’s favourite cologne, a new beanie and a book that he had remembered Gabriel mentioning months ago. It didn’t seem enough, Jack not realising that just the fact that he knew those were things that Gabriel liked and wanted made it different from the practical gifts he had been taught to give.

     Ana had also told him that the best gift he could give was admitting to Gabriel just how much he had started to like Christmas, staring at him with knowing eyes when he had awkwardly tried to deny her words. But while he had blustered to her, he had filed the advice away, making up his mind to follow it once they’d opened their gifts, desperate to give Gabriel the same kind of Christmas he had been giving him.

Not knowing that he would, just not in the way he was planning.

    He was struggling to find the words on Christmas morning as they sat beside the tree because according to Gabriel it didn’t matter that they were adults, nothing beat sitting on the floor in your pyjamas and working through a pile of presents. And it was a pile this year, as everyone seemed to have joined Gabriel in his mission to make Jack like Christmas and Jack had been dismayed to feel his eyes beginning to sting as he stared at them. It was everything he had been denied, and there was a dull ache in his chest at the fact he’d been forced to wait so long. However, the tears didn’t fall, and he was smiling by the time he reached the gifts from Gabriel.

    There were more than he had expected, and it made him worry that the gifts he had brought him in return weren’t enough. He laughed at the giant, black forest stollen he opened, at the gimmicky ‘Jack Morrison action figure’ that he had seen for sale months ago, although he had threatened to throw it at Gabriel when his partner had joked that maybe he should trade Jack in for his smaller counterpart. There had been other gifts, more sweets, some toiletries, a pair of Christmas socks that sang ‘Jingle bells’ when he pressed the button and which he promptly decided to ‘lose’. However, it was the last two gifts that rocked him to his core.

   The first was a delicate Christmas bauble, it was made of clear glass and decorated with elegant red and blue swirls, their colours, and there was a picture of the two of them in the middle. It was one from the Christmas Banquet a few weeks ago, and they had both been dressed up for the occasion, but whoever had taken the picture had caught them laughing and joking, looking completely at ease and Jack found himself unable to take his eyes off it. “To commemorate our first Christmas,” Gabriel murmured, gently taking it from Jack’s trembling hands and setting it on the tree, right at the front where no one could miss it. Jack had sniffled at that, his heart hammering in his chest as he stared at it. _Our first Christmas. My first Christmas._

     The second present broke what composure he had left. He had guessed that it was a picture of sorts, having felt the frame through the paper and he was careful as he unwrapped it, finding himself staring at the wooden back of the frame, before clicking his tongue and turning it over. He froze. There was a roaring sound in his ears, disbelief coursing through him, because there in his hands, framed in beautiful oak frame was that picture he had drawn all those years ago. The picture that he had thought destroyed and his mouth opened and closed without a sound being made as he slowly turned wide eyes towards Gabriel who was watching him with soft eyes. “I asked them if they still had it,” Gabriel answered the unasked question, expression one of concern and affection as he leant in, reaching up to cup Jack’s cheek, stroking away a tear that had escaped. “They kept it, Jack. They had it all these years,” he whispered.

    Jack was trembling now, completely overwhelmed. He wasn’t sure what to feel about the fact that his parents had actually kept the picture, that was too complicated for him to deal with right now. What he did know was that Gabriel had willingly gone to talk to his family, to ask for this, to give him something this precious and there was no holding back the sob that bubbled up. Gabriel’s eyes widened in shock, concern written across his face, but before he could say anything, Jack had set the picture aside and thrown himself at his partner, wrapping his arms around him in a crushing hug. “Thank you,” he whispered, voice cracking with another sob and then another and he buried his face against Gabriel, feeling his partner’s arms creeping around him and pulling him close. “Thank you…thank you…thank you.”

     He wasn’t sure how long they sat like that, Gabriel gently rubbing his back, riding out the wave of emotion but finally he pulled back. His eyes were itchy, cheeks tear-stained, but he was smiling, feeling a lightness that he’d never experienced before as he turned his gaze back to his presents for a moment, before looking at Gabriel again.  “Gabe…” He waited for a soft hum of encouragement, before leaning in to press a chaste kiss to a startled Gabriel’s lips before admitting quietly. “This was the best Christmas I’ve ever had.”


End file.
